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nadia's reviews
520 reviews
Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, a decent end to the trilogy, but I was a teeny bit let down, given just how much I loved Ship of Magic.
I finished The Mad Ship almost a year ago, so maybe I was a little out of touch with it all, so I struggled to piece together the politics and the motivations of all of the characters.
I also felt like some character decisions did not make sense to me or were frustrating, and some character arcs were ended unsatisfactorily, especially those that I feel didn't get their just deserts...
Still, Hobb is an incredible storyteller, creating rich, complex, morally grey leading characters, and the way she weaves everything together is so masterful!
I finished The Mad Ship almost a year ago, so maybe I was a little out of touch with it all, so I struggled to piece together the politics and the motivations of all of the characters.
I also felt like some character decisions did not make sense to me or were frustrating, and some character arcs were ended unsatisfactorily, especially those that I feel didn't get their just deserts...
Still, Hobb is an incredible storyteller, creating rich, complex, morally grey leading characters, and the way she weaves everything together is so masterful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Slavery
The One by John Marrs
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book wins points because, despite the clunky, amateur-seeming, writing, and cringe dialogue and asides (which sometimes felt a little sexist), I was curious to see how pretty much all of the different storylines played out. There were a couple of good surprises packed into this. Some things were rather too convenient, but that can be hard to avoid with books of this style!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy
Cujo by Stephen King
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn't sure how much I was going to get into a book about a monster dog, or how scared I'd feel while reading it, but I got into it and I did feel scared, tense, and on edge at various points! Again, also fun to see the small advantages to my King chronological read with this one! A solid book, with an unsurprising emotional tug, that goes a lot deeper than the obvious scary parts!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I was already a big fan of Viola Davis but this made me even more so! What an incredible woman!
I listened to this on audio and having Viola's voice fill my head as she told her story was something else.
I appreciated her sharing all sides of her story, including her difficult upbringing, the challenges that come with being a dark-skinned black woman in Hollywood, let alone choosing acting as a profession, and her journey in finding love, the latter of which got to me and had me sobbing at one point.
If anything, I was hoping for a lil’ more BTS scoops, especially on her work on HTGAWM, and also some more drama/goss, but I suspect that’s not Viola’s style!
Now I gotta go and watch everything Viola Davis has been in!
I listened to this on audio and having Viola's voice fill my head as she told her story was something else.
I appreciated her sharing all sides of her story, including her difficult upbringing, the challenges that come with being a dark-skinned black woman in Hollywood, let alone choosing acting as a profession, and her journey in finding love, the latter of which got to me and had me sobbing at one point.
If anything, I was hoping for a lil’ more BTS scoops, especially on her work on HTGAWM, and also some more drama/goss, but I suspect that’s not Viola’s style!
Now I gotta go and watch everything Viola Davis has been in!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Abortion
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
When I first heard about the concept of this book, I was intrigued!
I like going into books knowing as little as possible and so it didn’t start out how I was expecting and I thought I was in for disappointment, but then everything started to come together, and by the end all of the setup made sense.
I loved getting into the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty parts to making a movie and the variety of characters and their back stories that were explored.
Some parts felt a little too slow, convenient, overdone, etc., but I guess that’s what happens with some movies. 😆
I also really appreciated the variety of story-telling techniques and forms, and the bonus material! That was fun!
If you like character-driven stories and movies, and are curious as to what goes into making Hollywood motion pictures, or just like behind-the-scenes-style stories in general, you should definitely give this book a go!
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Instead she talked about the great divide between solving problems and causing them and the importance of being on time.
When I first heard about the concept of this book, I was intrigued!
I like going into books knowing as little as possible and so it didn’t start out how I was expecting and I thought I was in for disappointment, but then everything started to come together, and by the end all of the setup made sense.
I loved getting into the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty parts to making a movie and the variety of characters and their back stories that were explored.
Some parts felt a little too slow, convenient, overdone, etc., but I guess that’s what happens with some movies. 😆
I also really appreciated the variety of story-telling techniques and forms, and the bonus material! That was fun!
If you like character-driven stories and movies, and are curious as to what goes into making Hollywood motion pictures, or just like behind-the-scenes-style stories in general, you should definitely give this book a go!
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy
Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A super solid collection! I think I was intrigued by the premise of every single story, even if a few seemed to end far too abruptly for my liking. Nearly all of them seemed to end abruptly, actually, but for a lot of them that really worked! There was such a variety of characters and scenarios and I enjoyed the way some of the stories weaved in to one another via the characters!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Severance by Ling Ma
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I'm so glad I've finally read this one and I really liked it. A very interesting experience to read it on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic and spot parallels to what we've just lived through. I appreciated the book's structure and alternating perspectives and felt immersed in both strands. Ling Ma's writing was great and succeeded in generating an ongoing eerie, unsettling atmosphere from the get-go.
If anything, I'd have been happier with a slightly longer book. For one, I wanted a little more exploration — more story — beyond the ending that we're left with, though what we were given did work and fit the vibe of the book. I guess I wanted more because the whole thing was working so well!
If anything, I'd have been happier with a slightly longer book. For one, I wanted a little more exploration — more story — beyond the ending that we're left with, though what we were given did work and fit the vibe of the book. I guess I wanted more because the whole thing was working so well!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicide and Pregnancy
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
informative
slow-paced
3.5
This was one of the oldest books on my TBR! The Big Short is one of my all-time faves and I really enjoyed The Undoing Project and Liar's Poker. I would say Michael Lewis is one of my fave nonfiction writers and I was excited to finally get into Moneyball, knowing that I wouldn't have to know much about the game itself to get something out of it.
And while that was certainly true, the book was a lot more technical than I was expecting, without enough of a breakdown for baseball newbies. I get this book was largely for a US audience, but I expected more in the way of explaining certain terms or a breakdown of the rules of the game. I managed to piece most of it together, but even by the end, I'd struggle to visualise certain plays, which impacted my understanding of the arguments being made or the reasoning being explained.
Ultimately, I found myself bored for decent chunks of it because I found that I just didn't care. Despite that, I loved the character stories throughout the book and just the general story of people going about things differently in an industry set in their ways to get better results. I'm always a fan of narratives like that, and I'd say that it's a credit to Michael Lewis in general that despite how little I cared for the baseball specifics I was always still interested to keep going and see how everything played out.
If you love baseball then this is a must-read I think. If you like sports in general, underdog stories, or data-based decision making, especially in places where it isn't typically used, or just stories of people going against the grain and trying to shake up an industry that doesn't welcome that behaviour, then this is also a book for you! But you might have to be patient and perhaps read up on the rules and common plays/strategies of baseball first if you're unfamiliar!
UPDATE: Was just looking through an old travel journal and saw that the one baseball game I've ever been to featured the Oakland A's! It was Oakland vs. the Houston Astros at the O.co Coliseum on April 25th 2015. Houston won 9-3. Cool!
And while that was certainly true, the book was a lot more technical than I was expecting, without enough of a breakdown for baseball newbies. I get this book was largely for a US audience, but I expected more in the way of explaining certain terms or a breakdown of the rules of the game. I managed to piece most of it together, but even by the end, I'd struggle to visualise certain plays, which impacted my understanding of the arguments being made or the reasoning being explained.
Ultimately, I found myself bored for decent chunks of it because I found that I just didn't care. Despite that, I loved the character stories throughout the book and just the general story of people going about things differently in an industry set in their ways to get better results. I'm always a fan of narratives like that, and I'd say that it's a credit to Michael Lewis in general that despite how little I cared for the baseball specifics I was always still interested to keep going and see how everything played out.
If you love baseball then this is a must-read I think. If you like sports in general, underdog stories, or data-based decision making, especially in places where it isn't typically used, or just stories of people going against the grain and trying to shake up an industry that doesn't welcome that behaviour, then this is also a book for you! But you might have to be patient and perhaps read up on the rules and common plays/strategies of baseball first if you're unfamiliar!
UPDATE: Was just looking through an old travel journal and saw that the one baseball game I've ever been to featured the Oakland A's! It was Oakland vs. the Houston Astros at the O.co Coliseum on April 25th 2015. Houston won 9-3. Cool!
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
I went into this book with such high hopes and I was a little concerned at the beginning — it felt too slow and it didn't grab me — but at some point I got immersed in it and came to the realisation that it was just so delightful and the writing wonderful.
The characters, the setting, the emotion, the sprinkles of humour, the history, the life lessons, and more!
A beautiful book!
(Warning: The book features spoilers for Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, and the film Casablanca. You'll get even more out of the book if you're familiar with the latter!)
The characters, the setting, the emotion, the sprinkles of humour, the history, the life lessons, and more!
A beautiful book!
(Warning: The book features spoilers for Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, and the film Casablanca. You'll get even more out of the book if you're familiar with the latter!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Gun violence
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
4.0
A real solid, thought-provoking collection of stories. I appreciated the variety of topics introduced and the range of storytelling styles, especially with the last story. They really do raise a lot of philosophical, moral, and existential questions. A handful of them ended far too abruptly for my liking and I was left thinking: "Wait! That's it?!" A frustrating experience but the book wins points from me on account of the author's ingenuity.